IS THE THOROUGHBRED DEGENERATING ?sx Some Reasons for the Prices at Newmarket .sx " IT SEEMS to prove that the thoroughbred is degenerating , " said a well-known racehorse owner to me , as we stood by the sale ring at the Newmarket July Sales and saw yearling after yearling , brood mare after mare , sold for poor prices .sx And yet only a few short years ago those same yearlings were fetching thousands instead of hundreds !sx It is the swing of the pendulum , for in common with many other industries , the bloodstock industry is feeling the pinch of hard times .sx But that does not provide us with a cogent reason to say that the thoroughbred is degenerating , for , as the July Sales proved , there was the right price for the right animal .sx If a yearling sprung from parents of admitted racing worth possesses make and shape , bone and conformation , there will always be buyers who will be prepared to pay a large price for possession .sx There are far too many rich prizes on the Turf to be won to allow any likely yearling to escape for want of buyers .sx But on the other hand there is no market , or hardly any , for the second- and third-rate type of animal which may develop into only a moderate plater .sx If anyone is purchasing yearlings to-day they are naturally going to buy the best they can for the money .sx A RETURN TO NORMAL VALUES .sx The animals that bring the big money in these days are few and far between .sx It has always been so .sx The inflated prices that filled the post-War newspapers with scare headlines did , if the truth be told , very little good to the thoroughbred .sx The years that followed , difficult as they may have been for bloodstock breeders , saw thoroughbred prices going back to a normal level .sx Why , then , pick on the Newmarket July Sales and say that the bloodstock industry is in a precarious condition ?sx Does no one want yearlings or any other class of bloodstock ?sx Is not this England of ours still the stud farm of the world ?sx The Newmarket July Sales are not a fair index to the state of the bloodstock market .sx To commence with , the lots - be they stallions or brood mares , yearlings or horses in training - were not , with few exceptions , really representative of the breed .sx Those that were commanded good prices ; or the prices which one could expect when the whole world is suffering from a scarcity of money .sx But those prices have had an unfortunate effect on bloodstock breeders' minds .sx At every stud in the country , in paddocks and at sales one hears the same question repeated from breeder to breeder , and that is :sx " If the prices were bad at Newmarket , whatever will they be like at Doncaster ?sx " PRICES AT DONCASTER .sx But here , bloodstock breeders , who have cogitated that question while watching their yearlings in home paddocks , can take heart of grace , for Newmarket and Doncaster are vastly different when we come to a weighing-up of values .sx The whole of the bloodstock breeding world - from South America , from the United States , from India , from Africa - congregate at the ringside in the Yorkshire town .sx To them the Yorkshire " roar " that hails the St. Leger winner of the year does not mean half as much as the prices that have been obtained for the yearlings from Sledmere , Worksop , or Newbury .sx And those same breeders and buyers will find this year that it is quality rather than quantity that counts ; or when it comes to producing cheque books it is better to possess one good yearling than three bad ones .sx Prices for yearlings that do not quite take the eye , or whose breeding is suspect , may not figure in the sale returns at a large figure , but the yearling which has shape and size , breeding and conformation will be the animal which will command attention and for whom buyers all over the world will compete .sx That is one aspect of the question .sx And now to deal with out main theme - the degeneration of the thoroughbred .sx Does he compare favourably with the horse of twenty years ago ?sx Would Cameronian beat Minoru or Lemberg if they were raced together to-day ?sx If we were to believe all the written prophecies of the last twenty years that the breed of the racehorse was declining , then surely it is a marvel at the present day that the racehorse exists at all !sx There have always been these dull and pessimistic forebodings , but I venture to say in all boldness that the thoroughbred was never in a more prosperous condition then he is to-day .sx There are more horses in training than ever .sx At every stud farm one visits one finds , despite bad times , enthusiasm and resolution to meet the most hazardous time the thoroughbred has ever known .sx BREED FOR STAMINA .sx For every owner who gives up racing there are three to take his place , and it may be safely said that at least two of these will be women .sx So long as we have owners of standing and enthusiastic and knowledgeable breeders , the thoroughbred will go on improving .sx And he will improve a great deal more if two important matters are attended to in the near future .sx One is a fairly long-standing grievance , and that is , there are far too many rich prizes for two- and three-year-olds , and nowhere near enough for four-year-olds and upwards .sx We cannot , then , in all fairness blame an owner for racing a two- or three-year old colt , although the energy and vitality of that colt is sapped by his youthful exertions .sx Owners are not to blame , it is the system that is wrong , for if there were more races over a longer distance of ground for four-year-olds and upwards horses would be bred for stamina instead of speed , and upon stamina is founded the prosperity of the thoroughbred .sx There were plenty of horses in the olden days who made light of weight and distance , so cannot we in our own time breed animals who will gallop two or three miles at racing speed with a good weight on their back ?sx William Fawcett .sx OUTSTANDING ROSES OF 1931 .sx New Varieties at Last Week's Show .sx TIME was when new varieties of roses were of comparatively rare occurrence , and the relative merits of each was the subject of discussion among rose growers for weeks on end .sx All that is changed .sx New varieties come so quickly , and so many at a time that the merits of any particular kind are apt to be overlooked in a multiplicity of good things .sx I had this feeling as I went over the stands devoted to new seeding varieties of roses at the National Rose Society's Show last week .sx Here , however , the committee of experts appointed by the society has made one's tasks much easier by selecting the best of the new arrivals .sx The Clay Cup , which is awarded annually for the best new rose with old rose scent has been awarded to " William Orr , " a rose raised by Samuel McGredy and Sons , Portadown .sx I will say at once that this is a delightful rose - even when I tested its perfume in the late afternoon it was still righly fragrant .sx FRAGRANCE AND SHEEN .sx " William Orr " is described by the raiser as a " brilliant deep velvety crimson with a delightful sheen .sx The outer portion of the petals is of much lighter shade , giving the flowers a wonderful appearance .sx The flowers , which are unaffected by the weather , are large , full of perfect form with beautiful reflexed petals .sx The fragrance is exceptionally sweet and strong .sx The foliage is large , dark green , of very heavy texture and mildew-proof .sx The growth is quite distinct form any other rose , the habit and freedom of flowering being outstanding .sx A magnificent garden , bedding and exhibition variety .sx " I endorse this description .sx Five new varieties were awarded certificates of merit .sx Of these , " Shining Sun , " also raised by Samuel McGreedy , is of unusual colouring .sx Those who like tidy flowers will not appreciate its ragged appearance , due to the semi-doubling of the flowers .sx Chaplin Bros .sx secured two of the certificates of merit with " July Glory , " a good climbing Polyanthus rose the flowers of which are of a salmon cerise colouring .sx It is a welcome addition to this class of roses .sx " Loveliness , " in the same class , is , I think , too near Tausendschn to be worthy of a special place in the garden .sx A DISTINCTIVE ROSE .sx The most distinct of the new roses was " Rosa Syringea , " so called on account of its resemblance to Syringa ec Mack Orange .sx It was raised by R. Browning .sx To many the most attractive section was that devoted to roses for decoration .sx Mrs. Courtney Page secured first prize for her dinner-table decoration , using the creamy-gold " Roselandia .sx " The rose's own foliage was used , together with thin sprays of sweet briar .sx These formed a link between the central bowl of roses to the corner pieces of the table decoration .sx In the class for the best rose in the show grown by amateurs , Mr. H. F. Spicer acquired the premier award with " Everest , " a white variety .sx But why is size taken as the basis for judging the best rose in the show ?sx It only encourages fleshy monstrosities which in the garden would be weighted down by their own opulence .sx R. S. .sx HUMOUR IN SILVER PLATE .sx Bird Cups and Mice at the Cheese .sx A SENSE OF FUN is often manifest in the work of ancient goldsmiths and silversmiths , grotesques being even found among Roman jewellery .sx But the quaint conceits of silversmiths of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries , especially when engaged on the making of drinking vessels .sx German craftsmen were particularly fond of models of knights on horseback , heraldic beasts and those of the chase .sx As a rule the heads are detachable to form cups , the bodies serving as jugs , though in other cases the bodies themselves were the cups .sx They were intended for gala occasions rather than general use , and like the great salts ( standing salt cellars ) and the nefs ( models of ships intended to hold bottles , comfits or spices ) were treasured among the ceremonial plate .sx Examples of bird cups are to be found among the plate of the London City Guilds , and heraldic beasts used for such a purpose are not uncommon .sx The British Museum , besides the cock cups illustrated , has other standing cups of German origin in the form of a unicorn , a bear grasping a ragged staff , and stags ( three of these) .sx The use of a coconut as the cup body is not strange , for at that period coconuts were extremely rare in Europe , and being looked upon as great curiosities were frequently beautifully carved and richly mounted .sx At a recent sale there were two examples of coconut cups , one Austrian , circa 1550 , elaborately carved with religious subjects , mounted with silver straps on a tall , heavily chased baluster stem and cover .sx In the other , and Elizabethan specimen , the coconut bowl is carved with mythological figures , birds , foliage , etc. , with chased mountings and foot embossed with masks and foliage .sx Ostrich eggs were frequently treated in the same way , the egg often being finely engraved and elaborately mounted in silver , chased to represent neck , head , wings and legs .sx Nautilus shells were also utilised in the same way .sx All these were travellers' trophies at a period when travel was truly a romantic adventure .sx Yet another form of the humorous vein is seen in the large and extremely varied class of puzzle or trick drinking vessels , some of which date back to very remote days , such as those of the Aztecs and the early Peruvians , but were exemplified by the sixteenth century Dutch double puzzle glass .sx The trick consisted of filling both vessels , emptying the first small pivoted one and then the large goblet , without spilling a drop .sx A much later example of humour is the silver toasted cheese dish , with its four inquisitive mice peeping into the tempting receptacle , and the baited trap crowning the lid .sx This was made in London in 1804 , weighed 61oz .sx 8 pennyweight and sold for Pound 165 .sx Guy Cadogan Rothery .sx OLD PEDIGREES WITH NEW MEANINGS - II .sx How Milk Yield is Inherited and a Formula for Breeding .sx By THE VISCOUNT LYMINGTON , M.P. .sx